Desa Petaling boys dominate tournament

The SK Desa Petaling Under-12 hockey players and teachers elated with their second consecutive title.

THE SK Desa Petaling (SKDP) Under-12 Boys hockey team successfully defended their title in the Kuala Lumpur School Sports Council (MSSWPKL) 2019 championships last month.

The Under-12 squad were head and shoulders above the competition that involved 24 schools, as they cruised through their fixtures without conceding a single goal over the six matches that they were involved in at the Education Ministry hockey pitch in Lembah Pantai.

Despite not even having a field to practise their hockey, they were able to clinch the title with little trouble after a convincing 3-0 win over SK Taman Midah (2) in the final.

SKDP coaches Muhammad Ikram Karim and Muhamad Amirol Ariff Baharun played crucial roles in their charges success.

Ikram said the 1-0 semi-final win against their rivals, SK St John (1), was the toughest match the team had.

“Our team of Under-12 players consisted of mostly Under-11 players and they were also the runners-up in the same Under-11 competition in July, ” he said.

Six of his players were selected to represent Kuala Lumpur in the Malaysia School Sports Council 2019 (MSSM) Under-12 age group held in Melaka this year.

“We also managed to come up with a new strategy for the competition and our tactics were effective against our opponents. Overall, I am very proud of my players and I hope we will be able to keep the title again next year, ” he added.

SKDP defeated SK Bukit Maluri (6-0), SK Bukit Bandaraya (2-0) and SK Taman Segar (4-0) in the group stage before moving to the quarterfinals where they beat SK Pengkalan Tentera 2-0.

“The boys have been training hard for this competition.

“Even though we don’t have a field, we sent some of our players for training during the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association and Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) training camps.

“On the other days, we simply use whatever we have available to us, which in our case is the assembly area in our school, ” Karim noted, adding that the players’ parents were instrumental in providing support to the hockey team, along with well-wishers like Bermaz Auto Berhad.